Pakistan(National Times)- India’s unprecedented decision to halt a long-standing water-sharing pact, the Indus Water Treaty, following a recent attack in Kashmir could impact Pakistan\u2019s agriculture and energy production, particularly as the region heads into the intense pre-monsoon heat, a Bloomberg report stated. Experts in agriculture and diplomacy believe the effects may not be immediate, as India currently lacks the infrastructure to significantly divert water flows, The News reported. Pakistan, meanwhile, has rejected the move, calling it a violation of the 1960 accord, which it says does not permit unilateral alterations to the treaty. \u201cThere is a protocol in the treaty, an arbitration code, and there are guarantors\u201d like the World Bank and the UN that mediate any issue between the two countries, said Syed Imran Ahmed, director at Panjwani Hisaar Water Institute in Karachi. But the impact on one of the largest irrigation systems in the world could still be significant. Any disruption to the flow of water, and even its timing, could upset planting schedules in Pakistan\u2019s agriculture sector, which accounts for a quarter of GDP and employs nearly 40% of its people. The country also gets a third of its electricity from hydropower. India\u2019s move also comes as the region moves into what is forecast to be a sweltering summer. The southern part of Pakistan is already experiencing higher-than-normal temperatures \u2014 hitting 41C (105F) in the port city of Karachi this week \u2014 and hot and dry conditions are expected to persist for days, according to the country\u2019s meteorological department. \u201cThis is a larger political statement by India. Much would depend on how Pakistan responds to it,\u201d said D Suba Chandran, a professor at India\u2019s National Institute of Advanced Studies. \u201cIf India has to divert the water, India will have to invest in building dams, invest in building canals with an objective to divert the water. That will not take place immediately.\u201d Still, the system was never built to be switched on and off at will, Hassaan F Khan, an assistant professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Environment Studies at Tufts University, wrote in Pakistan\u2019s Dawn newspaper. \u201cThe flows of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab are the backbone of our agriculture, our cities, our energy system. At this moment, we simply do not have a substitute for these waters.\u201d The Indus Waters deal gives New Delhi control of the Indus basin\u2019s three eastern rivers, while downstream Islamabad controls the three western ones. Both countries are obligated to allow each other to use a portion of their waters and build infrastructure under certain conditions. India has previously called for a renegotiation of the treaty, arguing that Pakistan currently enjoys use of up to 80% of the basin\u2019s water. Until now, the pact has withstood decades of animosity \u2014 including three wars \u2014 between the nuclear rivals. It has been wielded by India as a threat in the past, though, including in 2016, after an attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir. At the time, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi threatened to restrict water under upstream India\u2019s control, saying \u201cblood and water cannot flow together\u201d. He did not follow through. \u201cIndia\u2019s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty marks a dangerous escalation & an attempt to turn a lifeline into leverage,\u201d Pakistani politician Umar Rehman Malik said on X. \u201cBreaching it is not just a violation, but it is a hostile act that threatens regional stability and sets a perilous precedent.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan(National Times)- India’s unprecedented decision to halt a long-standing water-sharing pact, the Indus Water Treaty, following a recent attack in Kashmir could impact Pakistan\u2019s agriculture and energy production, particularly as the region heads into the intense pre-monsoon heat, a Bloomberg report stated. Experts in agriculture and diplomacy believe the effects may not be immediate, as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n